BBC Chinese: China Has Become the Third Largest Arms Exporter
Qiushi: Safeguarding National Ideology in the Mobile Internet Age
RFA: Divorce, Restoration of Marriage and Buying House, a Phenomenon with Chinese Characteristics
Radio Free Asia carried an article commenting on the latest news about divorce, restoration of marriage, and buying a house, an interesting phenomenon that has been taking place in China in recent years. The article said that the Chinese media published news articles on March 20 that stated that the rate of restored marriages in China has grown in recent years. The majority were couples who had filed for divorce in 2013 because of the benefit of gain in their property taxes. According to the article, in 2014, the marriage restoration rate in Shanghai went up by 18 percent compared to 2013 and reached a record high. The article said that back in 2013, the central government introduced a set of rules in order to curb the overheated housing market. One of those was a 20 percent tax imposed on the gain from the sale of a property. The exception to the rule was where the couple owned two housing properties. If they filed for divorce, they would gain (separate) ownership of one of the properties and the 20 percent property tax on the gain would be exempt. Following the introduction of this rule, a number of major official media reported that, in large cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, people had to wait in line to file for divorce. In an interview with Radio Free Asia, a real estate lawyer in China denied that the marriage restoration rate had anything to do with the housing policy, while another person who is a U.S. resident told Radio Free Asia that this type of phenomenon may appear to be inconceivable to the people who have lived in the US for a long period of time but it is in fact a social phenomenon which resulted from the fast economic development that took place in China.
Source: Radio Free Asia, March 20, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/cyl-03202015120222.html
Chinese Airports Have the Worst On-Time Departure Records
China Economic Times reported that, according to South China Morning Post, among 61 major airports in the world, all of the seven worst on-time departure performance airports are in China. Hong Qiao and Pudong Airport in Shanghai and Xiaoshan Airport in Hang Zhou are the bottom three on the list with on-time departure rates of 37.17, 37.26 and 37.74 percent respectively. Other airports that have the worst records include Baoan Airport in Shen Zhen, Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou, Chongqing Airport, and Beijing Capital International Airport. China Economic Times quoted comments from an aviation expert who stated that China is behind in airport management where airport networks are centralized in small regions. Since most airlines routes are between Beijing, Shanghai, and the Guangzhou region, any minor error in one area will affect the airline performances in other regions.
Source: China Economic Times, March 22, 2015
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/201503/22/t20150322_4894111.shtml
China Internet Information Center: US Feels a Sense of Helplessness about AIIB
China Internet Information Center published a rebuttal against an article published in the New York Times on March 20 titled, “Hostility From U.S. as China Lures Allies to New Bank.” The rebuttal said that since March 12, more European countries have signed up to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank or AIIB, putting the U.S. in a very awkward position. The rebuttal questioned why the New York Times needs to be concerned. It stated that the reason China has attracted most countries to welcome the AIIB is that China has had strong economic growth. Even countries such as the UK look to China as its savior due to its own economic crisis. “The U.S. shouldn’t make its own values the absolute truth while discounting others. This type of mentality will affect its own growth.” The article continued that China has no intention of challenging the U.S. The strong opposition from the New York Times shows that the U.S. has a sense of helplessness.
Source: China Internet Information Center, March 25, 2015
http://opinion.china.com.cn/opinion_25_125025.html
The New U.S. Maritime Strategy Shows Its Two-Faced Nature towards China
People’s Daily Overseas Edition published an article commenting on the new U.S. maritime strategy that the Chief of Naval Operations, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard jointly issued on March 13, titled, "A Cooperative Strategy for the 21st Century Sea power: Forward, Engaged, Ready." This is the first revision of the 2007 edition of its maritime strategy in nearly eight years.
Qiushi: China’s Domestic Use of Soft Power
Qiushi reported that China has been innovative in transforming Western soft power into Chinese cultural soft power to achieve domestic objectives. The United States uses soft power as a means to promote hegemony. China has adopted soft power as an approach to enhance its comprehensive national power and international influence. “Domestically, [the soft power is used] to strengthen the development of socialist core values, to promote Chinese traditional culture, and to cultivate noble morals and enhance the cohesion of the Party, military and the people across the country. Internationally, [soft power is used] to disseminate China’s position and voice, to establish a good international image, to create a favorable international environment, and to promote the development of a peaceful, harmonious, and cooperative world.”